Bitcoin (BTC) Above 10K and Ethereum (ETH) Over 1K Possible in Q2?

After the remarkable run that top cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) had in 2017, many wonder if 2018 has anything like it or more in store. Investors are watching the market and following on expert predictions of what is likely to happen.

It’s bearish at the moment. However, the general market is bullish that the next few months will see BTC and other altcoins reach new levels. Here are some of the reasons the market is expecting to see solid gains sooner rather than later.

Wall Street crypto investment wave could signal uptrend

One of the reasons the market is so bullish heading into a crucial period in crypto has to do with improving sentiment from Wall Street. It is believed that Wall Street and an influx of institutional investors could play a role in crypto prices turning the tide for an upside rally. Previously mainstream institutional investors shunned cryptocurrency, but a gradual shift in opinion over much of 2017 and 2018 means we could be seeing a complete turnaround. And there’s good precedence set by Goldman Sachs.

Consensus 2018 and mid-summer price rally could be great for the top two

Other than the expected wave of institutional money being poured into crypto, various experts have made predictions that Bitcoin and Ethereum will see an upturn in 2018. It all hinges on the increased awareness and attention paid to cryptocurrency after the conclusion of Consensus 2018.

Prices have rallied before after this event, and with record numbers attending, a rally might be on cards here. On top of that, experts’ views put the figures much higher, about $20,000 and as high as $64,000 as predicted by Fundstrat. That means, if the value of BTC, for instance, will hit $25,000 by year’s end, a slight move in Q2 could push it over the $10k and $1k thresholds. This will be aided by successful new investors whose positivity will boost the market.

Bitcoin could then easily go over the 10,000 with such a push. Eric Kovalak, Hedge Fund CEO and Managing Partner with Vellum Capital, had the following to say:

“A Bitcoin price above 12,500 by end of July would be completely reasonable. We feel that midsummer crypto markets will continue to capture public interest and those buyers will come to the market more quickly with each successive round of buying.”

Similar sentiments are shared by Crystal Stranger, co-founder of PeaCounts, who says that:

“Both Bitcoin and Ethereum will be in for big gains this summer. Especially Ethereum with the ICO boom– this will only push the price up as the utility of ETH gains momentum. And the ICO and Bitcoin references on Silicon Valley this season will probably help as well.”

The influence of the Asian markets will also play a big role in Bitcoin and Ethereum gaining in Q2. It’s believed that the current wave of innovation and blockchain boom in the region will only be helpful to the top coins. There’s also the issue of increased interest in the crypto EOS that could pull in more investors who would buy into BTC.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are thus predicted to do well this summer and Q2 will at least see them hit the moderate targets, even if the current bear signs don’t dissipate in May.

Industry experts think it’s possible

According to a panel of industry experts by finder.com, the prices of both Bitcoin and Ethereum will increase in 2018. Even though sentiments varied as to why the general feeling is that the top two coins will have a better ending to the year. That puts Q2 into perspective and Alisa Gus, a panelist predicted BTC to be at $10,000 by June 1st, 2018.

“It is nice to see it trending up overall, though it’s a fairly slow trudge back up. Still, I think it was a necessary correction. And with its hash rate staying up despite the lower price, I can’t see it going back down right now. In fact, it will likely really shoot up at the end of the second, early third quarter of this year”

Ethereum too has similar predictions, especially on the back of its upcoming Casper implementation and talk of sharding happening. If these events plus the popularity of its ERC-20 token standard continues, then it could hit the $1k price in this quarter.

Conclusion: Bitcoin (BTC) currently trades at $8,272 and could easily do the $10k. Ethereum (ETH) currently trades at $694, not easy but possible. A sustained uptrend for both in coming weeks could push their values beyond the above Q2 predictions.